Politicoholic by Nisha Chittal

One of the my projects outside of my job that I’ve been most excited about lately is my work on the newly released book You’ve Come a Long Way, Maybe by Leslie Sanchez.

I’ve been working for the past few weeks with a great team that includes my friends Leslie Bradshaw and Erica Anderson, working on digital PR and online media efforts for this exciting book which takes a look at how the media covered Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama, and the roles of women in politics, media, and business today. And as anyone who knows me, or has read this blog, can tell you, this is a topic that I’m very passionate about.

When you look back at the 2008 election, there’s no denying that Hillary, Sarah, and Michelle all faced the tremendous barrier of sexism from the media and the American public during the 2008 election. Despite the fact that women are now told they can do anything they want, it seems that after the 2008 election, America is still afraid of powerful women.

A snippet of what the book is about:

“Leslie Sanchez is taking the assumptions and myths about women in politics and turning them on their heads.  YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, MAYBE (Palgrave Macmillan; October 2009) tackles hard-hitting questions like: Can women handle the stress and confrontation of life in the political limelight?  Why are women judged in terms of factors like fashion and approachability?  How did the media manage to boil down three complex women into the ditz, the bitch, and the darling of Election ’08?  D.C.-based Leslie Sanchez lives in the hotbed of high level politics, and can answer these questions with unparalleled authority, experience, sass, and candor.”

Leslie Sanchez is a prominent Republican strategist and pundit. I’m not a Republican, but am helping to promote her book because I believe in its message so deeply: the message that women have come so far, yet still have so far to go; and that more women need to take more prominent roles in America’s political leadership in order for things to change. That message is true no matter what side of the aisle you’re on or what party you belong to — and I fully believe that fighting for gender equality in American politics and media is something whose importance transcends polarizing, partisan politics.

So that’s why, although I’m not a Republican, I’m proud to support this book. And I think Leslie Sanchez may be just what the Republican Party needs more of in order to cast off its tired reputation as the party of old white men.

If you’re interested in learning more about the book or our efforts, we’re all over social media:

• http://www.twitter.com/LongWayMaybe (use the hashtag #LWM when asking “have we made progress?” on your tweets about women in biz, media, politics, etc.)
• http://www.facebook.com/LongWayMaybe
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/longwaymaybe
• http://www.youtube.com/user/LongWayMaybe (content forthcoming via journalist / video production rockstar Erica Anderson, aka @EricaAmerica)
• http://www.slideshare.net/LongWayMaybe (content forthcoming)
• http://bit.ly/LongWayMaybe (official Amazon page where you can purchase the book)